Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Plays Down Health Impact Of Virus, Again Predicts It Will 'Disappear'
NPR: Some People 'Have The Sniffles': Trump Downplays The Coronavirus's Severity
President Trump downplayed the danger of the coronavirus, claiming in an interview that aired Sunday that many cases are simply people who "have the sniffles." "Many of those cases are young people that would heal in a day," Trump said in his interview with Fox News Sunday. "They have the sniffles, and we put it down as a test." He added that many of those sick "are going to get better very quickly." (Montanaro, 7/19)
Fox News: Trump Says He's 'a Believer In Masks,' But Stops Short Of National Mandate In Coronavirus Fight
President Trump on Sunday said that he is “a believer in masks” in the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic, but added that he’s leaving it up to state governors to decide whether or not to implement an order requiring people to wear them in public. ... “Everybody who is saying don’t wear a mask – all of sudden everybody’s got to wear a mask, and as you know masks cause problems, too,” Trump said. “With that being said, I’m a believer in masks. I think masks are good.” (O'Reilly, 7/19)
CNN: President Trump Does Not Think We Need A National Mask Mandate
President Donald Trump said he would not consider a national mandate on mask wearing in a new interview with Fox set to air on Sunday. When asked by Fox News' Chris Wallace whether he would consider instituting a mandate, Trump responded, "No, I want people to have a certain freedom, and I don't believe in that, no." (Robertson, 7/18)
The Washington Post: Trump Defends Bungled Handling Of Coronavirus With Falsehoods And Dubious Claims
President Trump said in an interview aired Sunday that the rising number of U.S. deaths from the coronavirus “is what it is,” defended his fumbled management of the pandemic with a barrage of dubious and false claims, and revealed his lack of understanding about the fundamental science of how the virus spreads and infects people. Making one of his biggest media appearances in months — an hour-long, sit-down interview with “Fox News Sunday” anchor Chris Wallace — Trump was visibly rattled and at times hostile as he struggled to answer for his administration’s failure to contain the coronavirus, which has claimed more than 137,000 lives in the United States. (Rucker and Sonmez, 7/19)
The Hill: Trump Downplays Virus, Disputes Bad Polls In Testy Interview With Fox's Wallace
President Trump in a testy interview with Fox News’s Chris Wallace downplayed recent surges in coronavirus cases, defended his stance on Confederate-named bases and sought to attack his fall opponent, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Trump disputed polls showing him trailing Biden, eviscerating his Democratic opponent as “not competent to be president” and controlled by the “radical” progressive wing of the party. (Chalfant, 7/19)
The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Cases Climb In U.S., As Trump Calls Some Flare-Ups ‘Burning Embers’
President Trump said the coronavirus pandemic will be brought under control and he played down the public health threat in a Sunday interview, putting him increasingly at odds with state officials expressing concern about the spread of Covid-19 among young adults. The number of infected Americans continued to climb over the weekend. There were more than 3.7 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins. More than 140,300 people in the U.S. have died from the disease, according to the university. (Calvert, Harrison and Armour, 7/19)
AP: AP FACT CHECK: Trump's Alternate Reality On COVID-19 Threat
President Donald Trump appears to be living in an alternate reality when it comes to the COVID-19 threat. Over the weekend, he clung to the misguided notion that the virus will just “disappear” even as his top science experts and GOP allies bluntly say otherwise. Trump also continued to wrongly insist that anyone who wants a coronavirus test is getting one, made the head-scratching suggestion that the virus is under control when infections are surging to fresh daily highs and lodged false accusations against the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci. (Yen, Braun and Woodward, 7/20)
